Halitosis, commonly known as bad breath, is a common concern for many people. The mouth and nasal passages are home to hundreds of bacterial species with various nutritional preferences. In otherwise healthy people, the very back of the tongue, rather than the teeth and gums, is the main source of bad breath. This region is poorly cleansed by saliva and contains numerous tiny invaginations in which bacteria can hide. Additional oral sources of bad breath include poor oral hygiene, gum inflammation, faulty dental work, unclean dentures and abscesses.
The detection and diagnosis of halitosis has traditionally involved self-monitoring which is typically accomplished by breathing into one's own hand and then sniffing the trapped contents or a person suspecting that they have halitosis can utilize another person to sample their breath and render a subjective diagnosis. However, this is an imprecise and potentially inconclusive method. A more exacting method of detecting halitosis is needed.
While these methods may be suitable for the particular purpose employed, or for general use, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present disclosure as disclosed hereafter.
In the present disclosure, where a document, act or item of knowledge is referred to or discussed, this reference or discussion is not an admission that the document, act or item of knowledge or any combination thereof was at the priority date, publicly available, known to the public, part of common general knowledge or otherwise constitutes prior art under the applicable statutory provisions; or is known to be relevant to an attempt to solve any problem with which the present disclosure is concerned.
While certain aspects of conventional technologies have been discussed to facilitate the present disclosure, no technical aspects are disclaimed and it is contemplated that the claims may encompass one or more of the conventional technical aspects discussed herein.